Part of Me
by Maddiex
Summary: What if Sara hadn't sent Grissom the video? More than two years after their last encounter, Grissom and Sara meet again, but not under the best circumstances. Secrets will be revealed and misunderstandings will be debated. What will happen from there?
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **Part of Me

**Summary: **What if Sara hadn't sent Grissom the video? More than two years after their last encounter, Grissom and Sara meet again, but not under the best circumstances. Secrets will be revealed and misunderstandings will be debated. Will they give each other a new chance?

**Disclaimer: **Nah, I don't own them.

**Author's note: **I wrote this a few years ago – after One to Go, actually – but at the time I hadn't thought about publishing it. I found it a few days ago, and after reading it all again, I decided to give it a chance. I'm still working on Something for the Rest of Us, so I thought I'd give you guys a new story to read while I slowly finish that one.

This one is already finished, so if I happen to receive some feedback, I'll update very soon. It's totally AU – I mean, I wouldn't have guessed that Sara would come back _married _to Grissom a few months later, right? Anyway, Riley is here, and so is Ray. Warrick is still dead, Catherine isn't leaving anytime soon, Nick is Nick, and Greg is Greg. I didn't even know Grissom's mom was alive or that Sara's mother was schizophrenic. Oh, how the writers can surprise us. Let's just pretend that Sara left Vegas for the last time in The Happy Place, and never came back again. Hope you like it!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter One<strong>

_February 2011, San Francisco_

The sun was shining brightly that particular afternoon; tourists and locals walked around with their families, dogs – occasionally stopping to let the kids play or to read a book sitting on a bench. It was a Monday, and the Golden Gate Park was peaceful and content. The air was still slightly chilly from the winter, but the weather was very pleasant.

Sara Sidle cherished days like this. She loved walking around the park, enjoying the sunlight and the children's laugh. More than two years ago, she had made San Francisco her permanent residence. For years she lived in Las Vegas, hardly ever enjoying the days, and now she had a home–away from that heavy atmosphere she left behind after Warrick's death.

She had always loved San Francisco. After she left the lab and made amends with her mother, she knew she would have to make a decision–and she knew she couldn't go back to Las Vegas. She traveled and had a good time, and now she worked as a teacher at USF and owned a house in a nice neighborhood. She had a new life, and she was happy.

Life went on, and she moved on.

"Mommy, look!" A loud voice interrupted her thoughts as she came back to reality. A boy, who wasn't over two years old, was pointing at something on their right. "Dog!"

She was sitting on the grass, with some toys around them. The little boy was standing up, his light brown hair a little disheveled from playing and his blue eyes showing joy. On his side, Laura Sidle was holding a ball, laughing. Sara smiled at her son and looked to their right to spot a large Boxer a few feet away.

"That's a big dog, buddy," the man on her side said, smiling at the boy. He started talking something, but Sara wasn't really listening.

Her smile trembled slightly at the sight of the dog, remembering a familiar Boxer who used to climb onto her bed and jump every time she arrived home. She looked away almost immediately, focusing on her son's smile. The little boy stared at her, his big blue eyes showing joy and happiness, and she wondered, not for the first time, what would have happened if she didn't have him in her life.

The boy, now forgetting the dog, started playing with his grandmother. The man stared at her.

"You still think about him a lot, don't you?"

She frowned. "Who?"

"You know who."

Sara took a deep breath and looked at her son, who was now clumsily kicking the ball towards his grandmother. "It's hard to forget him when I look into his eyes every day."

Silence overtook them, but soon the man spoke again. "You know what you should do about this."

"I know, Chris, but… I also know Gil. He'll be happy and he'll be hurt, and he'll do the right thing. But even now, I'm not sure we want the same things." Sara said slowly, knowing that her voice could betray her confidence.

Chris Anderson was an old friend of Sara's–they met during her early years at the San Francisco Crime Lab. They met again when Sara returned to the city, but he was now the Night Shift's supervisor; recently divorced, he reminded Sara of Warrick sometimes–cool, down to earth. A different person, obviously. A good friend who had a good perspective and loved her son.

"He needs to know about Theo, Sara."

"I know that. I do," she replied when he arched his eyebrows, "but it's not easy. I… I should have told him when I was pregnant. I know that."

"You can't keep this up. One day, one of your friends from Vegas will come to visit you and they'll see Theo. They'll know, Sara." Chris said in a calm voice, and Sara was surprised to find herself calm as well. "You should call him. Maybe go to Vegas for a weekend, see your friends. Now you regret not telling him before Theo was born. If you don't tell him soon…"

Chris trailed off, turning back to watch the boy. He met Grissom once, more than ten years ago. He knew that Sara had a crush on the entomologist, and he remembered how he used to tease her about it. Things changed, though; he and Sara spent years without talking to each other. They'd occasionally exchange emails, to see how things were going. Over the eight years that Sara had been in Vegas, he married twice, got divorced twice, had a daughter, got promoted… He truly didn't know much about Sara's life in Vegas. He knew she had had a somewhat long relationship with Gilbert Grissom, he knew about the miniature killer, and he knew she had never spoken to Grissom again after she left Las Vegas.

He also knew Sara still loved the man. He didn't know what happened between them, but he knew Sara still loved Grissom.

That's why he couldn't understand Sara's decision of not telling Grissom about his son.

"Yeah, I know. I think it's time. Oh, here we go again." Sara said as she watched her son pick up something from the ground.

His smile lit up as he made a motion to put whatever he was holding inside his mouth, and Laura was looking helplessly at Sara. She stood up and walked towards her son, crouching up to his side. She tried to remain calm when she saw a red ladybug on his little hand. She wasn't amused–she knew how much her son loved animals and insects, but there were some days when everything was just too much–he reminded her of Grissom too much.

"Oh, Theo, you found a ladybug!" She said in an excited tone, smoothing Theo's hair. "Do you like it?"

The boy nodded solemnly, still watching the ladybug on his hand.

"See, the ladybug is your friend. Like butterflies and ants. You don't eat butterflies, do you?" Sara asked, speaking slowly and making sure he understood what she was saying.

"No. Bug is friend!" Theo stated happily just in time to see the ladybug fly away. He laughed, clasping his hands together and looking at her.

Sara chuckled. "Come on, baby. We should go home."

She picked Theo up and put him on the stroller while Laura started to grab some toys from the ground with Chris' help.

"Thanks for coming, Chris." She said after they had everything packed to go.

"No problem. Bye, buddy!" He said and Theo waved clumsily at him. "Nice to see you again, Laura."

"You too, Chris." Laura said as they headed for the opposite direction.

The ride to Laura's home was quite peaceful. She lived only a few blocks away from the park, and mother and daughter talked about trivial things – the park, Theo, what were the plans for the week. Soon they were in front of Laura's house.

"Why don't you stay here until work tonight?" Laura asked before getting out.

Sara shook her head. "No, I need to get some papers, and this little guy needs a bath. I'll be here to bring him by six."

Laura nodded. "No problem, darling. See you later."

They hugged briefly. "See you later, mom."

* * *

><p>After giving Theo a nice bath, Sara knew he'd be taking his afternoon nap and put him with some stuffed animals in his crib; she took five minutes to organize her papers for the class and, when she came back to check on her son, she was happy to find him fast asleep.<p>

She took a quick shower and got dressed for work quickly; it was half past five, and she knew she had to be fast. Ever since she started working again, Theo stayed with Laura–she already had some of his things at her house, so Sara wouldn't have to bring a lot of things over all the time. Still, she packed the usual: diapers, tissues, a few toys and an extra set of clothes. She checked on him again, not surprised to find him still asleep. Normally, he'd be up already, but after a day at the park, Sara was expecting him to be extra tired.

She was putting on some light makeup when the door bell rang and she went to the door; she frowned when she saw a postman, thinking that the mail usually comes in the mornings. Sara opened the door slightly and the man smiled apologetically and showed her a big box.

"Package for… Sara Sidle?" The postman said, and Sara opened the door wider.

"That's me."

He handed her a paper and a pen for her to sign. Just as she started signing her name, she felt a warm cloth against her mouth and nose, at the same time someone grabbed her wrists. She tried not to breath and looked up to see the postman getting into her apartment. She wanted to yell, but knew that if she did so, she would inhale whatever was on the cloth. She tried to move, but someone was holding her arms behind her back.

"You better stay still, ma'am." She heard a young voice warning her, and she kicked the man who was standing in front of her on the knees.

"You bitch!" The man said quietly, but Sara couldn't hold her breath much longer.

Soon, a sweet smell was invading her nostrils and her eyelids closed.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** So, was this too bad? Kinda good? Tell me what you think – I'd love to hear from you!

Next chapter: Where's Theo?


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** First of all, thank you so much for all the feedback! I'm very happy that people seem interested; I appreciate all the opinions and everything you said, it's really important to me to know what you think. As I said before, this story is finished, but I might change a few things in the future. There are six more chapters to go (including this one), it's not a very long story. As soon as I keep hearing from you, you can expect a new chapter any minute now. Thanks again for everything, I hope you'll enjoy this one too.

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><p><strong>Chapter Two<strong>

Laura Sidle may have spent too many years apart from her daughter – the months in the mental hospital, the years in jail. She didn't get to see her daughter become a woman, the fine woman she is now. However, if the last years told her something, it was that Sara Sidle was never late.

When Sara didn't show up at the usual time, Laura got a bit worried. Five minutes later she found herself dialing her daughter's home number. She actually felt a bit calmer when no one answered–that meant Sara was probably on her way. She decided to wait fifteen minutes to call again.

The fifteen minutes came and went, and Laura called Sara again–two, three, four times. Her daughter always called if she'd be late for any reason. _Always. _Panic overtook her when she thought about what could have happened. Deciding to not let herself be paranoid, she dialed a different number–and then she'd go to Sara's apartment.

"Anderson."

"Hello, Chris. This is Laura Sidle." Laura said nervously. "I'm sorry to call you so soon, I know you're probably not at work right now…"

"No problem, I'm actually on my way over to the lab. Why? Did something happen?" Chris' worried voice only served to make Laura even more concerned.

"I was just wondering if you saw Sara after the park today."

"No, I went straight home. Why?"

"I'm probably just being paranoid, but Sara was supposed to stop by half an hour ago." Laura explained, hoping not to sound too stupid. "She's not answering her phone and she's never late. You know how she is. I'll just… go over her apartment. See if everything's alright."

She heard traffic movement from the other side of the line and waited for a moment before hearing Chris' voice again.

"I'll do that, Laura. Don't bother; I'm near her place anyway. I'll call as soon as I get there."

Laura ended the call after agreeing with Chris. Feeling very powerless, she sat on her couch, her eyes focusing on a stuffed animal Theo had left behind during their lunch at her place. She knew it was probably rubbish. Sara was probably fine. Maybe she stopped by some store before leaving Theo at Laura's house.

Meanwhile, she'd wait.

* * *

><p>Chris stood outside Sara's door with his phone on his ear, hearing the phone inside Sara's apartment ringing in synchrony with his own cell phone. He took a deep breath, thinking about what to do. He didn't have a key to her apartment and the only person he knew that had a key, besides Sara, was Laura.<p>

Instinctively, he reached for the doorknob and as surprised to find the door unlocked.

That's when he knew something was wrong. Anyone who worked as an officer or as a CSI knew you couldn't let your door unlocked. He closed his phone shut and opened the door wider. Taking careful steps, he walked around the hall before going into the living room – and seeing Sara's body on the couch was very alarming. He ran to her, taking brief notice of the cloth resting near the couch.

"Sara!" He said, but she did not respond. He looked for a pulse, and was relieved to find one – she was just unconscious. Apart from the cloth on the floor, everything seemed to be in its place.

He stood up, and then remembered.

_Theo._

He opened his phone and quickly dialed a number while walking out of the living room and into another hall. The nursery's door was open–but no baby was inside the room.

_Oh, no._

"Control, this is CSI Anderson. I have a code 3 situation, 406 and 427 at Monterey Boulevard, west on Ocean Avenue. Bring in an ambulance, we have a possible 421." Chris said, and waited for a moment before he got a response.

"All units are on their way."

* * *

><p><em>Theo- did they take Theo?<em>

That was the first thingon Sara's mind when she opened her eyes. Seeing no one around her, she barely acknowledged where she was; she was up in a second, running towards the hall and into the nursery.

Theo wasn't there.

She didn't have time to reach the crib; she was still standing on the doorway when she felt a sudden wave of nausea and thought about the cloth and how she had been unconscious until a few seconds ago. She emptied her stomach immediately, unable to contain the urge.

"Sara, he's not–I already called the police." Chris' voice reached her ears as she stopped vomiting. She couldn't breathe; she couldn't think.

She was walking towards the living room, not caring about Chris. She noticed the bag she had packed with Theo's things was gone. She glanced at the clock–it was half past six.

_God, I was out for almost an hour._

"Sara, you need to calm down." Chris said again, following her as she started walking around the house.

"Where's Theo?" She asked with alarmed eyes. "Damn it, Chris, where's Theo?"

"Sara, we'll find him. We will find him, I promise. Are you feeling okay?" Chris asked, motioning for her to sit on the couch.

She glared at him hopelessly. "I'm fine. I just… I need him. God, what did they do to Theo? Why did they…? I shouldn't have opened the door, I…"

"Sara, calm down. The detective will be here soon. I called some paramedics to take a look at you. You need to stay calm so we'll be able to find Theo. And we will." Chris assured her.

"There were three of them. At least three. They… One of them wore a postman uniform. They gave me something, I smelled something–I think it was some kind of ether." Her hands were shaking as she spoke, and her eyes were glistening with tears, but she was too focused on her memories to care; she had to find her son. "There was a short guy, the one with the uniform, he got into the house first. I didn't see his face, I… God, what is going on? I didn't see them taking Theo, I should have done something to…"

"Sara, Sara, calm down." Chris said, holding her arms. "There was nothing you could have done. Just wait, the police will talk to you…"

"I feel so powerless." She whispered. "He's my life, Chris. They can't take him away."

* * *

><p><em>Las Vegas, two hours later<em>

"So you're really going? In two weeks? Just like that?" Catherine asked him, obviously expecting a convincing answer. He continued saying nothing. "I mean, _seriously. _I was expecting you to leave a few years ago. And now I was getting used to the idea that you were going to be here forever and you decide to leave the lab!"

He took off his glasses and sighed tiredly. "It's time, Catherine. You have a great team. Nick is in his best form, Greg and Riley work great together. Ray has been improving. You don't need me anymore."

"Somebody needed you more than all of us, and you didn't leave then." Catherine said quietly and Grissom frowned. "I'm sorry. That was uncalled for. Are you… Have you talked to her?"

"No, Catherine, I haven't. But Greg tells me she's doing great." He said bitterly. "It's time, Catherine. Maybe I'll travel. Work on a university. But my job here is done. I should have done this years ago. I am a teacher without students."

Grissom smiled apologetically and left the break room–he had to catch up on some paperwork before work tonight. Catherine continued to drink her coffee until her pager went off and she left for the DNA lab.

If they had stayed in the break room for one more minute, they'd have seen a reporter talking about a missing toddler in San Francisco on the TV.

* * *

><p>"So you're saying there were at least three guys?" Detective Adam Martinez asked her half an hour later.<p>

Her home was now a crime scene; CSIs were all over the place, officers and detectives were looking for information from her neighbors. She had been briefly examined by two EMTs before Laura Sidle arrived at her apartment. Detective Martinez asked her a few questions and now he stood in front of Sara expecting better answers.

"Yes. One of them was holding my arms. I kicked another one; there might be some evidence near the door." Sara stated, sniffing slightly. "The one who was dressed as a postman got into the apartment first. I don't remember anything after that."

"Anyone who could have done this? Any enemies?" Sara shook her head. "Theo's father, maybe?"

"No." Sara said immediately, looking accusingly at the detective. "No, his father doesn't… His father would _never _do anything like this."

The detective nodded thoughtfully.

"Thanks. We're doing our best, Ms. Sidle." The detective said. "You can come to the police station to wait for any updates."

Sara nodded, not really paying attention to him; her mother was on her side, her arm embracing Sara's shoulder in a comfortable manner that Sara didn't seem to register.

* * *

><p><em>Three hours later<em>

Sara had been around crimes her entire life.

Her father's death. Her job. Nick's abduction. Her own abduction. Warrick's death.

She never regretted her career choice. She had to admit that, nowadays, she even missed it. The thrill, the puzzles. Once upon a time, she loved being a CSI. She burned out, but she'd miss it eventually, more often than not while she was evaluating her students' projects.

Her father's death changed her life completely, that was _very _obvious. Nick's abduction had her focusing on finding him–she just acknowledged what had really happened after he had been safe, on his way to the hospital. She had never felt so vulnerable before. Her own abduction triggered what was bound to happen at some point in her life: a breakdown. Warrick's death made her feel powerless for the first time in her life.

But, as bad as all those situations were, she doubted she had ever felt as empty as this one.

How to cope when your child is missing and there's nothing you can do to help?

Why didn't they take her instead?

Not for the first time ever since Theo was born, she found herself wishing, hoping, wanting Grissom to be there.

Just as he should be.

She had no idea what was going on. She couldn't be a part of the investigation–she left the San Francisco Crime Lab too many years ago. So she did what she could: she answered their questions, she waited at the police station. An Amber Alert was being broadcasted, but Sara refused to pay attention to the TV.

"Sara." Sara's head shot up immediately at the mention of her name. She and Laura were sitting on the chairs inside Detective Martinez's office, waiting for some news. Chris stood at the door. "We have some leads."

"Please tell me you've found him."

"No, not yet." Chris said quickly. "But thanks to your neighbor, Mrs. Flinch, we managed to find the vehicle they drove and we arrested the owner."

"What did he say?"

"He refuses to name his partners, but he told us that if we want answers, we should look into your CSI file." Chris said and Sara frowned. "The guy is from Las Vegas, Sara. This is revenge."

"But who…? Why would someone do this? How would they…?" Sara stammered as she heard a tiny gasp coming from her mother.

"There's more, Sara." Chris said while sitting at her side. "The Amber Alert is being broadcasted in California, Nevada, Oregon and Arizona. The Las Vegas PD received four calls of people confirming they saw Theo about half an hour ago at McCarran's airport."

"Wh-What?"

"Are you sure there's no way for Grissom to know about this, Sara?" Chris asked, but Sara remained silent. "Listen to me–Martinez and I are meeting a detective in Vegas in two hours. I can't say anything more than this, but we have more evidence than these witnesses to think that Theo is in Vegas."

"Grissom didn't do this. He doesn't know – he would never…"Sara said, not even aware of what she was saying.

"We just can't rule out anything, but everything tells us your son is in Las Vegas." Chris said, looking from Laura to Sara. "You can come with us, but you can't be a part of the investigation. And I can't promise you that Theo will still be your secret. Okay?"

Sara blinked in shock, but her decision was made in a second. "I'll go to Vegas with you."

* * *

><p>*Code 3 - Emergency Situation; use lights and sirens.<p>

*406 - Burglary.

*427 - Kidnapping.

*421 - Sick or injured person.

Next chapter: Grissom finds out about Theo.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **This one is a bit shorter than the others, but I hope you'll like it.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Three<strong>

"…_the San Francisco police department has been working non-stop on the kidnapping of the 20-month-old Theo Sidle. According to our sources, the baby's mother, Sara Sidle, was left unconscious at their house at Balboa Terrace, in San Francisco. It is known that Ms. Sidle worked as a Crime Scene Investigator for years, but the detectives on the case don't think…"_

Brass turned off the television. Nearly two hours ago, he heard about the Amber Alert. He hadn't been aware of the boy's name or his mother, but shift hadn't started yet so he didn't bother on checking. If the boy happened to be seen in Vegas, he'd know. He hadn't seen Sara in more than two years, and he had no idea that she had had a baby. None of the guys knew either–otherwise he'd have heard something. Looking now, as the television showed several images of the little boy, he could see that the child did have some similarities with Sara–the smile, the nose–but anyone who saw those eyes and that hair…

Children's kidnapping cases normally progressed quickly–less than an hour after the alert had been broadcasted, he knew the case was now in Las Vegas. Several people claimed to have seen the little boy, and the sheriff called him to say he was now the lead detective on the case–a detective and a CSI from San Francisco, along with the baby's mother, would come to Vegas.

He needed to talk to these witnesses–and the crime lab had to be told. A missing child meant everyone working on the case. So, he had just decided to go after Grissom when he saw his friend standing on his office's door.

"Hey Jim," Grissom greeted, "the Collins' case is solved. Suicide. No worries about suspects. Just so you know."

Grissom gave him a pointed look and was about to turn around to leave the office when Brass called him.

"You seen the news? The missing boy?" Jim asked, but Grissom gave him a confused look. "A boy was abducted in San Francisco. There have been sights of him in Vegas. San Fran is bringing in a CSI and a detective to work with us."

Grissom's face remained expressionless. "I'll let everyone know that we'll be working on this case, then."

"Gil, it's not just that." Jim said, unsure about how to continue. "The boy is twenty-months-old. His name is Theo Benjamin Sidle. He's Sara's son. She should be in Vegas in less than two hours."

* * *

><p><em>Twenty-months-old…<em>

Sara left more than two years ago.

_He's Sara's son._

She never told anyone about this.

_Theo Benjamin Sidle._

_She should be in Vegas in less than two hours._

Brass' words kept repeating inside his brain–Sara had a son, and she was coming to Vegas.

When did that happen?

His job was his life. That never changed; Sara hadn't changed it. When she left for the first time, he had never worked so much. He barely went home back then; everything reminded him of Sara. She left several of her things behind, which was somewhat comforting. If she left something behind, she'd have to come back eventually to take it back.

He just wasn't counting on her to do just that.

She came back, yes. If only for a few days, but she did. She came back, and with her she brought comfort, love, partnership, all those things they had cherished so much during their life together. They were grieving over the loss of their friend, and happy to be reunited, and for once he didn't want to work.

He just wanted to be there, with Sara. He didn't want to let her go this time.

But she did. And, this time, she took everything with her.

He didn't call her when he realized she had left him. This time, it felt real.

And, suddenly, he remembered all the conversations he had after Sara had left that first time.

'_Have you been in touch with Sara?'_

'_When it's time for someone to move on, you've just gotta let 'em go.'_

'_Go after her.'_

Could he?

He couldn't. The lab was too short. And he couldn't go after her if he didn't know where she was.

He became worried after not hearing from her. During their months apart, he always knew where she was, what she was doing. But that second time, he knew nothing, and his CSI mind could only think about tragedies and bad things.

So, he called her during that second week. She never answered her phone.

He sent her emails. She never replied them.

After God knows how many calls and three emails, he called her mother in San Francisco and learnt that Sara had gone on a trip with the Sea Shepherd, and Laura Sidle didn't know when she'd come back, but told him Sara managed to talk to her every once in a while. He made her promise to call him if anything happened to Sara.

She had moved on, and he had to let her go.

He stopped calling her; the emails ceased. Sara never contacted him, and he never heard of her again.

He knew the guys kept in touch with her, though–Greg often talked about Sara during the cases, mostly wondering what would she have said during a weird case; Nick mentioned that she started working as a teacher at USF; Brass even asked him a few times if he had been in contact with Sara. Even Catherine told him–very often–that she seemed happy.

She moved on, and away from his life. And he kept his initial resolution: he wanted her to be happy.

But that had been more than two years ago, and now not only she had moved on, but also had a child.

And while he had managed to be professional and focused on his job, in the back of his mind, a question kept repeating itself.

_Could the boy…?_

And, suddenly, when he stared at the smiling boy at the picture, he realized that, indeed, he could. Theo Sidle was just a baby, with light brown hair, big blue eyes and the brightest smile he had ever seen. Grissom found himself caring for him instantly.

But that only made things worse.

* * *

><p>"Okay, guys. Everyone will be working on the same case tonight." Grissom started. "We have a missing toddler. He was abducted in San Francisco. We have strong evidence that he's alive and in Las Vegas right now. Several people saw him with a woman at McCarran. This is the boy we're looking for."<p>

He pointed to the picture with the smiling toddler in the middle of the table.

"His name is Theo Sidle. He is Sara's son." He said carefully, hearing Catherine gasping and seeing Greg's and Nick's astonished faces. "He's twenty-months-old. The San Francisco PD arrested a guy, Jeremy Turner. He confessed, but did not say where the boy is or who worked with him. He only said to look into Sara's files from Las Vegas. Ray, I want you to go to the airport, check the cameras, everything. Riley, go check Sara's files. I want anything suspicious to be put into question."

The two CSIs nodded and left immediately, each one carrying a copy of the case. Grissom waited for them to be out of sight before speaking again.

"I trust all of you to be professional. We _need _to find this boy. Sara will be coming along with a detective and a CSI from San Francisco." Grissom took a deep breath, still seeing the shock written on his friends' faces. "Nick, I want you to go to McCarran's with Brass, and be with him while interviewing witnesses. Afterwards, come back to the lab, we should have some new evidence until then. Greg, I want you with Riley for now. Anything could be relevant. Catherine, please go over the evidences collected up until now. I'm going to Turner's house with Brass to see if we have any leads."

The two men nodded and left. Grissom focused on a photo on the table, one with Sara and the little boy. He took a deep breath and looked up. Catherine was holding a photo and looking at him repeatedly.

"He looks exactly like–Gil, I–I never knew. Did you?"

Grissom shook his head.

"We'll find him."

"I hope so, Catherine."

* * *

><p>Nick and Greg walked silently side by side, with worry and determination on their faces.<p>

"This is not how I expected Sara to visit us." Greg said.

Nick nodded thoughtfully. "Did you know? About the baby?"

Greg shook his head. "Did you?"

"No. Do you think he's… you know…"

"I'll be surprised if he isn't." Greg said in a strong tone. "We need to find him. I… I want to meet the little guy."

"And we will. We will." Nick assured him as they kept walking. "Good luck on your task, Greg. Let's find this boy."

"You too."

* * *

><p>Next chapter: Grissom and Sara's reunion.<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Another short chapter, I'm afraid - this one was a bit longer, so I changed a few things - it'll make more sense in chapter five.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Four<strong>

Sara didn't acknowledge the bright lights of the Strip or the casinos as they drove around Las Vegas. She knew those lights, she knew those casinos, and she doubted they had changed too much. Her mother stayed in San Francisco against her will. Sara thought it might be better for her to be home, in case anything else happened. But now, she wished her mother had come too.

She knew what to expect. They were going to the crime lab, and they'd be working with the night shift. She knew that by now everyone knew what had happened, but she didn't care. She didn't care about the gossip, the people, or even Grissom.

She only cared about Theo.

Nick had been the one to pick them up at the airport; he approached them with a cautious smile and she realized how much she had missed that face. They hugged, briefly, but Sara didn't cry. Her tears had subsided a few hours ago, and she knew that she'd be no help if she broke down every time someone offered a sympathetic gesture.

They'd find Theo. That much she knew. And no one was better to do that than Brass and the night shift team. She trusted them with her life. Hell, she had trusted them with her life once, and they found her. They _had_ to find Theo.

Nick made sure they didn't have to stop when they reached the crime lab. Sara walked beside Chris, ignoring the stares of those people she had come to know so well over the years. When they reached the once so familiar layout room, she saw Catherine reading the case's files, and when she looked up and her eyes focused on Sara, she stood up immediately. Ignoring the men surrounding them, she pulled Sara into a welcome hug. If someone here knew what Sara was feeling, that would be Catherine.

"We'll find him, Sara. We'll find your son." Catherine said as she pulled back, and Sara had to control herself to not cry when she saw Catherine's moistened eyes as she tried to smile. Sara nodded, pursing her lips.

"Catherine, this is Detective Martinez and CSI Anderson, from San Francisco. This is CSI Willows." Nick said. "Any news on Ray or Greg?"

"Ray is coming to the lab with the tapes from the airport. He thinks we'll be able to get a clear picture from the woman and the baby." Catherine said, looking at the men and Sara. "No news on Greg and Riley so far. It's difficult to find something specific without having anything to start with. Any new witnesses?"

Nick shook his head. "No one knows anything about the woman after the airport. Officers went after her when people said they thought the baby was Theo, but they got nothing."

Sara looked down at the several photos on the table, not daring to say anything. Who knew what would happen to her baby? What did they want with Theo? What would they do with him?

* * *

><p>Jeremy Turner lived in a small apartment just off the Strip – small, but taken care of. He definitely didn't seem like a guy who would kidnap a child. From his records, they knew the man sold cars for his living.<p>

Apparently, everything was pretty normal. The living room was clean, they found no traces in the bedroom, and the guy appeared to live alone, after all. There were no phone numbers written anywhere, no notes, nothing. When Grissom reached the kitchen, he noticed that the answering machine had three messages. He exchanged a quick look with Brass, and pressed the button.

_Beep._

"Hi Jeremy, this is Tina. Where are you? Stevens is going crazy around here, you'll be lucky to have your job back if you don't come back with a good excuse. Just call us as soon as you can, okay?"

_Beep._

"Hey man, it's Ramon. I have extra tickets for the Monster Jam next week, you interested? Just gimme a call and I'll keep a couple for ya."

_Beep._

"Martha, get the hell out of Jeremy's apartment, the cops caught him. I, I can't reach your cell–maybe you're still on the plane, but–if you hear this, get the hell out. Give me a call, will ya?"

_Beep._

Brass stared at him with his phone in hand. "Guess we know who the woman's name is."

Grissom nodded thoughtfully, opening a few drawers. Finding nothing probative, he opened the fridge. Milk, some junk food, beer… But at the bottom shelf he found something very probative.

Nursing bottles.

"Brass, take a look."

"Martha, that's what the guy said. We have a phone number too, I'll call you back in a minute." Brass closed his phone and walked towards Grissom, looking at what his friend held. "I'm guessing our guy Jeremy is too big for one of these, but we should never assume in Vegas."

Grissom smirked. "I'm pretty sure we can assume a few things around here."

* * *

><p>Sara tried not to think about the possibilities, and she prayed silently for whatever god that existed to have her son safe, to make sure that nothing bad happens to him. The questions were too much, and she looked away, knowing that if she stared at her little boy's eyes she would break down.<p>

When her eyes shot up, she caught Grissom's at the door.

He looked tired, she could see that. He looked older. But he seemed… good. He was pretty much the same–same hair, same beard, and same eyes.

God, those eyes. Those eyes were the same that had been looking into her eyes every single day for twenty months now, with unconditional love and so dependent of her, but still made her feel great and happy. Theo's eyes.

A sob escaped her throat as they looked at each other. He made his way towards her and she started crying the second he embraced her, crying for the first time ever since she woke up to find Theo gone.

She cherished the feel of his familiar arms around her, knowing then that whatever came out of this terrible situation would change her life forever. She clung into him, suddenly regretting more than ever never telling him a word about Theo, about their son. She felt him shaking a little as they touched, but knew he wasn't crying. He was just showing some compassion. They had been the best of friends once upon a time, and he had been the best lover she ever had, the best person she ever met, the most considerate person she would ever meet.

God, how had she been able to go through these last years without him?

_Well… She had a part of him with her all the time._

"Sara, I'll do whatever it takes to find Theo. We still have time. We have leads." He whispered. "We'll find him. I know it's hard, but we have to focus on finding him. Can you do that?"

She felt the tears stopping as she let his soothing voice comfort her, and she nodded slowly, closing her eyes, knowing that he was right.

He pulled back and caressed her cheeks, wiping the tears away. He was hurting as well; she could tell by the way he looked at her. "Good. We'll find him, together. And you'll be holding your son in your arms soon."

* * *

><p>Next chapter: New leads, new suspects – and does Grissom know the truth about Theo's father?<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

She nodded and he took his spot at the center of the table. With a quick look sent to Catherine, she started putting more photos around the table, and Chris started doing the same.

"Let's go with what we know so far. Sara, can you tell us what happened?" Grissom asked her.

Sara nodded and breathed in deeply before speaking. "I was getting ready to leave for the university. Theo was taking a nap, which is unusual for him to do so, but we had a busy day and he was probably very tired. It was about five thirty when I looked at the clock before opening the door to a postman.

"I didn't see his face, it was dark, but he was short, about 5 feet tall. He told me I had a package and when I took the pen to sign, another man put this handkerchief in my face. The postman walked in, another guy held me and then… I just remember waking up on the couch."

Chris nodded. "We found traces of diethyl ether on Sara's system. Before she inhaled the ether, she kicked another man's knees. She managed to rip apart some cloth off his pants, but it's nothing very probative. Just a plain black fabric. We got no DNA, no skin cells on it."

"Her neighbor confirmed that she saw the men walking towards Sara's front door. They left in a white van. The neighbor's camera registered the plaque. It's on the name of Jeremy Turner." Detective Martinez pointed at the photo of a man at the center of the table. "Vegas' resident. We emitted a broadcast on the road about the plaque and he was arrested in Oakland."

"Has he said anything so far?" Catherine said. "We really don't have a motive. Theo wasn't randomly picked."

"Turner says nothing. He didn't even have a criminal record until today." Martinez said. "We found evidence of three people in the van, plus the baby. They left this toy behind." He pointed at the photo of a stuffed cat. "Sara says Theo doesn't like this toy very much. We're guessing they gave him the toy and he let it fall on the seat."

"Ray and Nick are working on a photo of the woman, but we believe she took the flight 227 from Oakland." Catherine said. "Anything on Jeremy's apartment?"

"We got several nursing bottles at the fridge and a message on the answering machine telling 'Martha' to go somewhere else because Jeremy was arrested." Grissom answered.

"Okay, then. I'll tell Greg to find cases with a woman called Martha. We have to find something. Anderson, you may be of some use around here." Catherine said.

Chris turned to Sara, caressing her in a reassurance manner. "You gonna be alright?"

Sara nodded. "Yeah, yeah. Go ahead."

Their quick exchange was noticed by everyone else in the room, and Grissom felt Catherine's eyes on him from where she stood at the door. Brass and Martinez were now talking about the case again, but Grissom awkwardly looked at Sara, who seemed to be on the verge of tears again.

"Sara, maybe you should sit down a bit." He said worriedly, but she shook her head. "Come on, let's go to my office. There's nothing more you can do about this."

She obliged, and he couldn't help the hand on the small of her back as they walked towards his office in silence. Grissom took Sara to the couch instead of the chairs, and she seemed almost in shock as she sat down.

"You can lie down if you want. This is our only case tonight, Sara." He said, but she didn't look up. "We'll do our best, we'll find your son. But I want you to be aware that you did everything you could up until this point. Okay?"

He didn't get any response, so he kneeled down to be at her eye level, but she looked away again. His hand reached for her chin and he tried to make her look at him, but she had now closed her eyes.

"Sara, I'm trying to help. Look at me." He tried again. She opened her eyes, already moistened by tears that would be falling at any second now.

She hesitated, but reluctantly gave in. "I can't."

"Why not?"

She pushed back a sob. "Because when I look at you, I…"

Sara never had a chance to finish; an officer ran past Grissom's office for the reception, and someone was yelling something. Grissom exchanged a look with Sara and got up, while Sara did the same. When they reached Judy's desk, the officer was holding a man down, while Brass had a gun pointed at the man. Through the glass walls, several lab techs looked at the scene.

"What's going on here?" Grissom asked Judy, who stood behind the desk looking a bit scared.

"I'm not sure, Dr. Grissom–the man brought this envelope, but I told him to wait–and when he saw an officer he tried to run away." Judy said. "It's addressed to you and Sara, and since we don't receive any mail at this hour, I thought it was weird."

The officer was now handcuffing the young man, who by that time had stopped struggling.

Grissom frowned. "You did good, Judy."

He walked to the desk, where the envelope lay, but Sara was already past him and reaching up for it; he stopped her hand in mid-air. "This might be evidence. Don't contaminate it." He looked around. "Can someone bring me a pair of gloves?"

Soon enough, Grissom, Sara and Brass were at the layout room, with Grissom carefully opening the envelope. There was only one thing inside: a photo.

Sara's hands reached her mouth as she saw a photo of her baby, who appeared to be asleep–the photo didn't give any indication of where he was or anything else.

In the back of the photo, a few words were written.

"_How does it feel to have your life taken from you?"_

* * *

><p>Brass could see where this was going. He had experience, he knew people. Some people often made him disgusted with his job. Some people actually reminded him why he couldn't leave the job. And, in cases like this one, he was often torn between never wanting to do this job again and thankful that he was a detective.<p>

Sometimes he wished he would just be there for the people he now considered friends, almost family. But sometimes he was actually glad he could do something to help – something substantial, something crucial.

"So, Jesse," Brass started, looking at the young man in front of him, "now we know why you didn't want to be caught. But I'm curious. Was that about that car you stole, the drug possession, the counting cards system or the kidnapping of a toddler?"

That made Jesse Spratt look up at the detective.

"Hey man, I ain't done anything, okay? And the car, Doug told me the car was his. The drugs weren't mine. I'm clean." Jesse said slowly. "That thing with the pot farm back those years ago ain't with me either. I don't even smoke pot!"

Brass rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, we get it. But now, since you're a good kind man, you're telling us exactly what you were doing with that envelope."

"I was just being a messenger. Guy paid me ten bucks to get that thing here."

"Ten bucks? You're cheap, huh? What did you do with those ten bucks?"

"I, uh, I was hungry so I bought a soda and some chips."

"Where?"

Jesse looked around nervously. "I don't remember, man."

Brass stopped walking and stood beside Jesse in an intimidating manner. "Listen up, _messenger_. The envelope you brought us was a threat from some guys who kidnapped a two-year-old boy. A boy who has been missing for a couple of hours. Unless you want to be arrested for being an accomplice at the kidnapping of a toddler, you better tell me who paid you, where did they meet you, and when did the person contact you. Got it?"

Jesse nodded his head. "Yeah, relax man. The guy's name is Landon–or Logan, last name is Smithson, or Johnson, I don't know, I don't remember. I've seen him before, he's always gambling at the Palermo. Not that I gamble, of course. We were outside Palermo when he told me to get you that thing."

"So you deliberately came all over the way to the Crime Lab just to bring us that _thing_?"

"Detective, I need money. I, um, spent lots of money helping my grandma's health problems. She, she has a thing on her lungs and stomach, I don't know, man, I've been sending her some money, so I have nothing. And the guy saw me at a, um, slot machine, and offered me ten bucks." Jesse said defensively.

Brass shot him a cynical smile. "Yeah, we know. Know what I think, Jesse? I think this Landon-Logan guy saw you counting cards. I think the guy knew you're a drug addict. And I think he saw you losing some money. You'd stay away from the cops and do everything right. And you know what? I'm keeping you here anyway. But thanks for your help."

Jesse suddenly turned from nervous to miserable. "Oh, man, my grandma is going to be pissed! I didn't do anything, I'm telling ya!"

Brass closed his eyes briefly after closing the door. Guys like that actually made him remember why he couldn't leave the PD.

But now it was time to catch some real criminals.

* * *

><p>To say that Grissom was shocked would be an understatement. Thousands of things crossed his mind as he looked at the photo and read those words.<p>

_This was addressed to Sara and I – why would they address this to me?_

_Where's Theo?_

_How do they know Sara is in Vegas?_

_How do they know where I work?_

_Who's that guy? Where's Theo?_

He couldn't keep his mind away from all those questions but, somehow, when he looked up and met Sara's eyes, he knew.

Theo was his son too.

He knew, and he didn't have to ask or say anything. He just breathed in and out deeply, trying to focus. He wouldn't think about his relationship with Sara; he wouldn't think about _Sara _at all. He needed a chance; he needed to meet his son. He needed to hold him in his arms and know him like a father should.

Brass left soon, to question the guy who brought the envelope to the crime lab, while Grissom tried to take some prints from the photo. Sara stood there, watching him silently.

And somehow he had to say something.

"Were you ever going to tell me about him?"

His voice was choked, and for the first in many years he realized he couldn't control his emotions all the time.

Sara looked at him in shock; he knew that, even if he wasn't looking at her. "I'm sorry."

Her weak response would have been alarming to him once, but now he didn't care. He was grieving – his son was missing, a son he never met, a son he already loved. A son that had been kept from him for the past two years.

"That's–that's not enough."

"I know. I know. He's–" Grissom heard her voice cracking, but he kept his focus on the envelope. "I'm so sorry. This… I never planned you learning this way. Obviously. And I know I'm guilty. He's… He's so much like you. Every day, I look at him and I see you. He never let me forget, Gil, as much as I wanted to."

This time, he looked at her. All those years ago, back when they were still in a relationship, they had some rules – never discuss personal matters at work being one of them. They occasionally broke it, but always tried to stick with the rules. But this – now – it wasn't only about them anymore.

"You probably wanted to move on. I don't blame you, but–but you had him, Sara. I had nothing. And he's as much mine as he is yours." Grissom said, watching as silent tears fell from her eyes. "I'm just trying to understand."

"I wish I could say something in my defense, but I can't." She softly said, and he almost felt guilty by telling her what he was thinking. "I just want to find him. He's my life, Gil. He's so smart, he's so bright."

"I'm sure he is. He seems to be a great kid." Grissom said quietly, fighting the urge to hug Sara as she wiped the tears away from her face.

"He is. He's very talkative and he likes to observe everything. He loves animals. And bugs." They exchanged a shadow of a smile as Sara sniffed. Suddenly the offending noise of a phone ringing brought them back to reality; Sara reached for her phone on her jeans' pocket. "It's my mother. I'll just… I'll be right back."

He nodded quietly, and he brought his attention back to the partial he found at the envelope as Sara left the room to answer the phone. Not two seconds after she left, he got a call from Brass. He had just closed off his phone when Nick appeared on the door way.

"Grissom, I got something."

Greg's face now appeared in the doorway too, looking a bit exasperated. Riley followed him with a triumphant smile on her face.

"Greg?"

"I actually found something." He said quickly. "Strong suspect. Her name is Martha Nelson."

* * *

><p>Next chapter: Brass has leads. Greg has leads. Nick has leads. But is Theo alive?<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Nick was the first to explain his discoveries.

"We managed to get a picture of the woman." Nick said, handing Grissom a photo of a brunette woman holding a little boy. "We recognized her because of the bag–it's the same bag from one of Sara's pictures. We managed to get a list of passengers from the airline company, and then we checked some of the names. Two of them could be linked to Sara. One of them is Wesley James, a guy who was involved in a minor case Sara investigated in 2006, and the other is Martha Nelson."

Sara entered the room quietly, turning everyone's attention to her and prompting Nick to stop speaking. Greg was the first to go to her and give her a hug. They exchanged a few words and introduced her to Riley, who gave her a small smile as they shook hands.

"Martha Nelson is the woman in the picture. By the picture, I think she dressed up as a postman to get access to you." Nick said. "There was a man with her, but we couldn't get his face clear."

"Martha went to jail three years ago. She's on probation–released three months ago. She was arrested for the kidnapping of her son, Caleb Nelson." Greg said, looking at Sara and Grissom. "It happened about three weeks before we had the Miniature Killer. Apparently, her ex-husband had full custody of their son, she couldn't even see the boy. You two took the case. Ring any bells?"

Sara nodded immediately, but Grissom remained quiet.

"We found the boy when we questioned her two hours later." Sara said, looking at Grissom. "She took him to her brother's house."

Grissom nodded. "I remember. There was something about… she was sick, wasn't she?"

"She was severely depressed at the time. That was why she couldn't see her son. And now she took Theo. How had she known about him?" Sara said in a somewhat hysterical tone, looking at them. "She's crazy, she probably blames us for not having her son and now she has Theo."

"Ray is talking to Brass about this right now. He'll be at her house in less than five minutes, I'm sure." Nick said. "The plane tickets were bought by Jeremy Turner. He's probably her boyfriend or something like that."

"We know who the guy from the phone is." Catherine said abruptly as she reached the room with Chris walking beside her. He moved to stand by Sara's side. "He's Martha Nelson's brother , L–"

"Landon?" Grissom asked, and Catherine glared at him.

"No. Logan Nelson. Is this the man you saw, Sara?" Catherine asked her as she handed her a copy of the man's driver license.

Sara nodded. "Yes, that's one of the men."

Ray walked into the layout room. "Brass is on his way to the woman's house."

"Let's go with him." Sara said, as if it was obvious.

"You know you can't come, Sara. You shouldn't even be here for starters." Grissom said calmly. "I'll go with Brass, and if we find Theo, you'll be the first to know."

"I'm his mother. I'm the one he'll be crying for." She said defiantly. "I just need to see him."

"I know that, Sara, but you can't…"

"Well, if I can't go, you can't go either." She said, and everyone turned to look at them.

"Do you want me to stay here?" Grissom asked her quietly, in a soft tone. "You can't go, Sara, and we don't even know if he's there. I can tell Nick to go, or I could go."

She looked at him desperately, but knowing that he was right; there was absolutely no one that she would trust more than Grissom to be with her son. She nodded slowly.

"I know, I'm sorry. I just need… you have to find my baby." She said ultimately, putting her hands on her face in a failed attempt to not let the tears fall. Chris put his arm around her shoulder, trying to give her some comfort as Grissom eyed them before leaving the room.

* * *

><p>Anticipation, worry and anxiety rushed over Grissom as he waited until the cops knocked on Martha Nelson's door. Nick and Chris were a few feet behind him, also waiting.<p>

What could happen? Was Theo alive? Would he meet his son today?

The idea of never hearing his son's voice or never seeing Theo smiling sickened him. He _needed _to see Theo alive, and well. He needed a chance.

A young man answered the door, with a frown on his face and an appearance of someone who had just woken up.

"Logan Nelson?" Brass asked, eyeing the man suspiciously. Grissom exchanged a quick look with Nick.

"No, I'm Nathan. If you're looking for my brother, you should try his house." The man sleepily asked them, rubbing his eyes.

"We're looking for you too. We have a warrant to search your sister's house." Brass said in a hurried tone, pushing the young man aside while the officers entered the house.

"Hey, hey!" The young man said, motioning to go after the cops, but Brass pulled out his gun and pointed at the man.

"We're here for the toddler who is on TV. You've probably seen him before. Brown hair, blue eyes? Perhaps your sister brought him here."

Nathan Nelson suddenly stopped fighting and looked at Brass with huge eyes. "What? No, Martha wouldn't…"

"Yeah, she would. You and I both know that. Where's your sister?"

"I don't know, she just asked me to take care of the baby! I don't know anything, I swear!" Nathan nearly yelled, and Brass let him go to enter the house.

Another cop caught Nathan, and between the silence and the anticipation, Grissom heard a small cry.

And suddenly, every other noise didn't exist anymore. He didn't hear cars or sirens or voices; all he heard was the faint cry of a baby, his baby, someone he never met. And unconsciously he walked towards the house, not caring about Nick's voice telling him to wait. He had waited long enough.

He reached the door quickly and heard someone saying that the house was cleared. He passed several people and heard another cry, following the sound until he got into a hallway, only to quickly find a door to a nursery. Brass stood in front of a crib, about to reach for the baby, but paused and stepped away when he saw Grissom.

His breath was caught as he stared at the little boy; he wasn't crying too much, but he was sobbing lightly, oblivious to everything and obviously not understanding a thing about the situation. He walked over to Brass, and suddenly the boy was in his arms. Theo didn't stop crying, and Grissom wasn't amused by that – the baby had absolutely no idea of who was holding him, and Grissom hoped that someone had already called Sara and told her to come.

Grissom hugged the little boy, then checked to see if he was alright; no obvious bruises could be seen – it was possible that he was just scared.

"Hey, buddy, it's going to be alright." Grissom found himself saying as he felt tears coming to his eyes. "Mommy is coming. Everything will be okay now."

And as if on cue, Theo stopped crying.

* * *

><p>He kept Theo in his arms and told Nick to take care of the scene – soon Catherine and Greg were there too, with Sara. She got out of the car in a hurry and immediately spotted Grissom holding Theo. She ran to them with tears in her eyes, closing them as Grissom passed Theo over.<p>

The little boy sensed his mother's distress, and whimpered a little as she hugged him.

"Mommy sad," he said, and Grissom smiled as he heard the tiny voice coming from the baby. Sara smiled as tears slid from her eyes to her cheeks.

"No, baby, Mommy is not sad. Mommy is happy. See? I'm smiling." She said, hugging him again and looking at Grissom. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

Grissom shrugged and sighed in relief. "It was the least I could do."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Theo is found! But now, what will happen to Grissom and Sara?


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

"They found Martha Nelson at her brother's apartment."

After the paramedics examined Theo, Catherine sent Grissom home – with Sara. They had already found the little boy and Grissom didn't feel the need to be a part of the investigation now. He also knew he'd _have _to talk to Sara, and she accepted, albeit reluctantly, his offer for a place to sleep before she leaves for San Francisco.

After a bath and a nice meal, Theo was happily playing with some blocks in the middle of Grissom's living room – and Sara still had to mentally correct herself to not think that this was _their_ living room, since she had lived in the townhouse too.

Hank was happy, _very _happy, to see Sara, and she laughed with joy when she saw him after all this time. Grissom, however, was adamant about him being in the house while Theo was there, since the dog wasn't used to children.

They talked about trivial things at first, with Sara saying that he hadn't changed much about his home and how Theo had a thing for insects and animals.

Finally, after nearly an hour of uncomfortable conversation and embarrassing glances, Catherine called saying that they caught the woman who kidnapped Theo.

"That's good. I knew the guys wouldn't let her get away." Sara said with a smile as she watched Theo yawning. "You have a great team, by the way. I'll have to thank them – all of them – for saving Theo. I don't know what I'd do without him."

Grissom nodded absentmindedly, staring at the little boy.

Theo yawned again, but stubbornly continued playing with his blocks. Sara and Grissom watched him together for a moment, until Sara stood up and walked towards her son.

"Come on, baby. Bed time." Sara said, picking him up. The little boy almost immediately rested his head on her shoulder, while his little hand reached up to smooth a lock of Sara's hair. Grissom remained seated, watching their interaction. He couldn't help but smile at the scene. "Griss, I'll just put him to sleep and then I'll take these toys from your living room."

"Don't worry about the toys, Sara." Grissom said as he watched her walk away, the boy's eyes already closing as he tried to keep awake.

She came back five minutes later, her hair a bit disheveled, but with a smile on her face. She exchanged a quick look with him, and then walked towards the middle of the living room, where several toys were.

"You don't have to do this, Sara. Just let the toys around, Theo will play with them tomorrow anyway." Grissom started, but Sara made no move to stop.

"It's okay, I'm used to it. You know I hate it when everything's messy." She said while putting the blocks back on the box. "Having a baby makes it difficult to keep everything on its place, but I try."

"Theo seems to like to touch your hair." He said, trying to make some light conversation. Sara stood up and looked at him, a bit embarrassed.

"Yes, he always… I guess it soothes him. He always did that. When he was smaller and my hair was longer I had to wear a ponytail all the time. You wouldn't imagine how bad it was to have your hair pulled every time you hold your son." She said, smiling at the memory. "He did learn to not pull, so it's okay now."

He smiled. "You always had nice hair." She turned to look at him with wide eyes, but she quickly bent over again to pick up the last toy and put it inside the bag. "I mean, your hair was always very, um, smooth, and…"

"Thanks." She said, interrupting his embarrassing explanation. "Thanks for letting us stay here. I think it's good for Theo to get to know you a little."

Grissom nodded as Sara moved to sit beside him, but not close enough for them to touch.

"Look, Gil, I… I really am sorry. I don't expect you to forgive me, and I'll admit that what I did was by no means right." Sara sighed tiredly. "When I found out I was pregnant, I was… I had no idea where we were at that moment. So, I waited. To see if you'd do something. When I realized it, I was going into labor and I hadn't told you yet. Things got out of control from there."

Grissom stared at her silently, and she sighed once more, knowing she deserved it.

"I don't expect you to understand. But I'm definitely not going to keep him from you anymore. We can… We can work things out." She breathed, closing her eyes momentarily. "I could come to Vegas every week so you can spend some time with him, that's not a problem. I can stay at a hotel and… and leave him here with you, I don't think that will be a problem after he gets used to you. I know you don't want to miss work, so I…"

"I'm retiring." Grissom suddenly blurted out. "I'm sure it will be easier for me to travel to San Francisco alone than for you to travel with an infant by yourself."

"Oh." Sara said, surprised at his statement. "Well, that's, um… very surprising. That's – that's good. You wouldn't believe how difficult it is to travel with him."

"I can imagine it." Grissom said dryly, still not letting her in.

"I think I'll go to bed. I don't want him waking up while I'm here." She said. "Chris booked us a flight for tomorrow morning. I… I wish we could stay a little more, but… mom is really eager to see Theo again and I have to work tomorrow night."

Grissom nodded. "I understand. Don't worry, we'll work things out."

"I'm sure we will." She gave him a tentative smile before standing up. "Good night."

He watched as she disappeared into the halls of his townhouse and sighed, resting his head on his hands.

If only life were simpler.

* * *

><p>Sara smiled as she heard Theo's giggles coming from the living room, while she brought the rest of her things into the hall; Chris would be arriving at any minute to pick them up, and she still wanted to go to the lab and say goodbye to everyone.<p>

When she reached the living room, she couldn't help the big smile that crossed her face as she watched her son giggling at the weird faces his father did.

She stood there for a few moments until Theo noticed her. "Mommy!"

She laughed as the little boy clumsily got to his feet and walked on shaky steps to her. Sara quickly picked him up. "Hey, baby! Are you having a good time?"

"No!" Theo said his favorite word in an extremely loud voice.

Sara laughed as she saw Grissom's frowning face. "Don't worry. 'No' has been his favorite word ever since he learned how to say it."

"He, um… He's really smart." Grissom said and Sara smiled.

"Yeah, wait until he gets more comfortable with you. He also talks a lot." She said, kissing Theo's forehead as he played with her shirt. "I mean it. Normally I can understand what he says, but sometimes he talks so fast that I can't catch it."

"Something he got from you, I suppose." Grissom teased, and Sara felt her cheeks warming up.

"You're probably right." Sara said as she heard the distinct sound of a horn coming from the street. "That's Chris. We… We should go. Thanks for letting us stay here."

"No problem. It was the least I could do." His eyes lingered a bit on hers and then he looked at Theo. "Hey, buddy. I guess this is where we say goodbye."

Pursing her lips as she passed her baby to Grissom, Sara blinked a couple of times before saying anything. "I'll take the suitcases to the car. Be back in a minute."

She tried not to think about what Grissom would be feeling at that moment as she took her suitcases to the car Chris rented. She smiled weakly at him as he got off the car to help her.

"Ready to go?" He asked, and Sara nodded. "I just came back from the lab. Catherine, Greg and Nick are still there. You want me to drive you there to say goodbye?"

"Yeah, I'd love that." She sighed. "I'll go get Theo."

When she stepped into the living room, she found Theo still in Grissom's arms, apparently analyzing his beard, as Grissom stared at the little boy intently.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Sara abruptly said, making Grissom look at her, "but we have to go."

He nodded silently and passed Theo to her. "Are you sure you don't want me to drive you to airport?"

"No, don't worry. But thanks." She smiled at him. "I can, um, email you with some photos. You know, sonograms, his birthday… I have lots of videos too. I mean, if you want."

"I do. I really do. I want to see what I've missed." He said, not really caring if she felt guilty anymore. "I want to see him. We can work things out, even in different cities. I don't expect you to just leave him with me, don't worry. I know you better than that."

Sara nodded. "Thanks. For everything. I'm happy to see that you're doing okay."

"I can say the same about you." He said, looking at Theo. "I'd like to see him again, soon. I have two weeks until my last day, so… we'll figure something out."

"We will." She assured him. "Well, this is it, then."

"I'll… see you soon." He said hesitantly, obviously unsure of what to do. Sara sighed for a moment, and took a step forward to envelop him into a one-arm hug that he, after a moment of surprise, hugged her back with both arms.

"Thanks again. I… Even now, I don't know what would have happened if it weren't for you in my life." She whispered, closing her eyes while cherishing the warmth of Grissom's arms.

She stepped back a few moments later, when Theo started to become fussy. She sniffed and brushed one lonely tear away from her cheek.

"We'll see you soon." She said, managing a smile. "Say goodbye… Say goodbye to Daddy, Theo."

Theo mumbled something unintelligible and hid his face on the curve of Sara's neck.

Grissom smiled, and Sara was surprised to see unshed tears on his eyes.

"I'll see you soon." He said, reaching up to caress Theo's back. He looked at Sara. "Call me when you land in San Francisco. I'd like to know that you got there safely."

"I will." Sara nodded as they started walking towards the front door. "Goodbye, Gil."

"Goodbye, Sara."

He watched as she walked towards the car, taking some time to safely buckle Theo up in his chair. He greeted Chris from the distance, and waved when Sara looked at him.

He wasn't able to hold the tears when he saw a tiny little hand waving clumsily at him from the backseat of the car.

He smiled as he closed the front door and decided to let Hank into the house; this was the end.

It was only the beginning.

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><p><strong>AN:** Almost the end, guys! This was actually supposed to be the end - I was happy with it, really. But I've decided to work on an epilogue for you. It's almost finished, I should post it in a day or two. How can I say this? I thought this would be a simple story with a simple ending and that was it. But you guys seem to like it - which makes me very, very happy - and recently I've been finding myself thinking about several situations to write about Sara and Theo and Grissom... While I should be working on my other WIP (I really need to finish that one). And then I remembered that writing a sequel was my original plan years ago! But then everything got out of hand when Sara came back married and with no kid. Not that I don't like Sara, she's my favorite character ever, I just don't understand her relationship with Grissom anymore (not that I ever did, but I like to think that I did).

Anyway, I'm really, really excited to start a sequel for this one, but I guess that will depend on whether you want it. The objective of this story was to have a crime linking Grissom and Sara so that Grissom could find out about his son, and I personally think the story will lose a bit of perspective if I start to write something entirely different, no crimes, just about how Grissom and Sara will work things out. So, yes, I have plans (lots of plans) for a sequel, but it will depend on what you guys think about this idea. :) Okay, let's be honest in here, I'm already writing the sequel, but I really want some feedback on this subject.


	8. Epilogue

**A/N: **It was naïve of me to think that just because I have no classes until next month I'd have lots of time to write. I was going to update the story on Friday, but given that internet wasn't exactly coping with me and that I had to work on Saturday, things got a little out of control. To be honest, I recently discovered that I still am absolutely, completely, utterly in love with the Harry Potter series, and I spent the rest of my free time watching old Harry Potter movies, reading the books all over again, and bugging my boyfriend to make him a fan of the series. See, I got over Harry Potter in 2007, or at least I thought so - but then a movie is released and, next thing I know, I'm going bananas over it again. Is there any sort of therapy for this kind of thing?

Anyway, my plan is still the same - a short sequel, just a few chapters, that I'll probably start posting this week. If J.K. Rowling lets me, of course.

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><p><strong> Epilogue<strong>

"So, this is it." Catherine Said as she reached Grissom's office, which was filled with boxes and papers. "You're really going."

Grissom smiled. "Apparently."

"Where are you sending these to? The townhouse?" Catherine asked, sitting in one of the chairs in front of him and pointing to the boxes. Grissom nodded. "Gee, you better buy another house. I'm not sure you can fit all of these in that place."

"Well, I might do just that."

Catherine grinned, looking around for a moment before saying anything. "How are things with Sara?"

Grissom sighed. "You saw her last weekend, Catherine."

"I know, and I'm glad everything's okay – we caught the criminals, your baby boy is safe." Catherine said with a smile. "I'm just asking how things are between _you_ and Sara."

Grissom opted to not be a part of the investigation after they found Theo; shortly after Martha and Logan Nelson were found, things started to make sense – Logan went to San Francisco on business often, and helped Martha on finding Sara. They didn't see anything that made Nathan Nelson an accomplice, though; he seemed to be the only one in the family that wasn't guilty.

Meanwhile, Grissom's relationship with Sara hadn't exactly improved, even though it hadn't worsened. They were still estranged – talked often, but always about Theo. For Grissom, it wasn't easy to cope with the recently discovery of a twenty-month-old son. For Sara, it wasn't easy to cope with Grissom, even if she knew that the whole thing was a consequence of her own choices.

To be fair, Grissom hadn't confronted her about it all yet. The kidnapping of their son was still too raw inside their minds to have them arguing about the past.

"It's fine. We've been talking a lot. We need to figure out how to raise Theo together." He said, and Catherine nodded.

"I'm glad. I know that it isn't easy, and I'm not defending Sara at all, but maybe you should give her another chance." Catherine said, and Grissom shot her an annoyed look. "Come on, Gil. We all saw you when she left. You two are perfect for each other. In a dysfunctional sort of way."

"Catherine…"

"I'm just saying. Sara always gave you several chances over the years." Catherine said, standing up and winking at him. "Plus, you now have a beautiful baby boy who will keep you together forever, whether you like it or not. Do me a favor and go live in San Francisco."

Grissom sighed and watched as she marched towards the door.

"Tell Sara I expect an invitation to Theo's birthday."

Grissom nodded thoughtfully as she left the room. He locked eyes with the photograph in his desk – one that Catherine chose, since she was the one to take the picture the weekend before – Grissom had Theo in his lap while Sara attempted to feed the baby. Their smiles were cautious, but Theo seemed perfectly happy.

So many things could happen, but only time will tell, Grissom thought. He smiled inwardly at the photograph before standing up. Hodges seemed to be eager to talk to him these days, and it was the third time the lab tech walked in front of his office in fifteen minutes. He should make himself busy before he got trapped with a too passionate 'friend'. He stared at his phone.

Sara was probably already awake. Maybe he'd call her.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** This is it, guys! Thanks so much for reading the story, thanks so much for reviewing it... It was a short journey, and I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did.

Have a nice week!

_Maddie_


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